Medical device developer Medovate has concluded agreements with three US-based companies to act as the exclusive distributors for its FDA approved SAFIRA (SAFer Injection for Regional Anaesthesia) innovation across the United States of America.
The announcement puts Medovate’s US launch of SAFIRA firmly on track for summer 2020, meaning, Medovate will have successfully brought its first medtech innovation to market just over two years since the company itself was established.
Chris Rogers, sales and marketing director, Medovate, said: “I am delighted to have reached agreement with our three initial distributor partners in the US. All have experience in the anaesthesia space, and we believe are the ideal choice to help us take advantage of the huge opportunities that exist for SAFIRA in the US. Securing a network of experienced distributors is essential in delivering the significant benefits that SAFIRA is capable of.”
Medovate’s US launch plan for SAFIRA capitalises on the rapidly growing international healthcare market and will be accelerated by its three new partners, who between them cover 20 US states, or 40% of the US: Illinois-based MED Alliance, Ohio-based OE Meyer Co and Seattle-based CoMedical. All three companies are specialists in airway and anaesthesia and are members of the Independent Medical Specialty Dealers Association (IMDA), which provides the connections and expertise needed to introduce innovative medical technologies to the US market.
Developed in collaboration with anaesthetists in the UK NHS, Medovate hopes SAFIRA can radically advance standard clinical practice. Regional anaesthesia procedures are widely used to make a specific part of the body numb to relieve pain or allow surgical procedures to be carried out. The SAFIRA device incorporates a unique safety feature that helps to reduce the risk of nerve damage by preventing anaesthetic being injected at pressures which are too high. In addition, SAFIRA allows for significant time and cost savings.
Amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, recent publications have recommended regional anaesthesia should be considered whenever surgery is planned for a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patient. This is because regional anaesthesia preserves respiratory function and avoids aerosolisation and hence potential viral transmission of COVID-19 compared to general anaesthesia. With current pressures on healthcare increasing rapidly around the world, SAFIRA could help considerably as the innovative system enables the procedure to be carried out by one person, thus further reducing viral infection risk than the current two-person practice.
